Micronutrients
Ok, its time for topic # 3, and we can finally dive into the foundations of nutrition. In order for us to move forward we need to clarify some key terms and ideas. In this weeks article, we will cover micronutrients, what they are, why they are important, and practical applications of getting more in our body as naturally as possible.
Micronutrients are our vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals). These are nutrients necessary for normal human functioning but contain no calories or energy.
Vitamins are a group of organic nutrients, required in small quantities for a variety of biochemical functions that, generally, cannot be synthesized by the body and must therefore be supplied in the diet. They are broken down into lipid or fat soluble and water soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins are Vitamins A, E, D, K. They are called fat soluble because they dissolve in fats or oils. We have all seen what happens when we mix water and oil, there is a separation that occurs. Compounds that are lipid/fat soluble or hydrophobic (doesnt like water) will hang in the fat/oil layer. Compounds that water soluble or hydrophilic (likes water) will mix in the water layer. The water soluble vitamins are the B vitamins and Vitamin C.
This table taken from Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry gives us a flavor or what we know so far about these different vitamins, but much more work is needed in this area.
So this table is kind of overwhelming and frankly the point of it is to show the diversity of functions but also the importance of taking in quality micronutrients in our diets. As we can see by this table, these substances are not optional.
Minerals are just certain elements found on the periodic table, yes lets dig back to high school or college chemistry to that old chart.
Inorganic mineral elements that have a function in the body must be provided in the diet. When the intake is insufficient, deficiency signs may arise, eg, anemia or low blood count (iron), and goiter or hypoactive enlarged thyroid (iodine).
These minerals fall into two basic categories, the major minerals and trace minerals. We require higher doses of major minerals and less of the trace minerals. This table gives us an idea of which minerals fall into each respective category. This is not an exhaustive list, there are many trace minerals not found on here such as chromium and zinc. The body is said to require up to 92 minerals in total.
Minerals in general serve as co-factors for enzymatic processes in the body, as electrolytes, maintain acid-base balance, form structures such as bone and teeth,.
Ok so we have covered at nauseam why we need micronutrients, and if you want 100 more biochemical pathways I can attempt to dig it up and post it, but hopefully we got it. The question still remains, how do we find these micronutrients and how do we get them into our bodies so we can function optimally. Plant foods.
For almost every single mineral if you were to do a google search for foods high in magnesium for example, you might see "Good dietary sources of magnesium include legumes, whole grains, wheat bran, soybean flour, whole-wheat flour, oat bran, spinach, beet greens, green leafy vegetables and Swiss chard." Ok....what about Iodine? "Great sources of iodine include lima beans, soybeans, garlic, sesame seeds, Swiss chard, seafood, spinach, turnip greens and summer squash." What about zinc? "Black-eyed peas, pinto beans, soybeans, lima beans, whole grains, pumpkin, mushrooms, cooked greens, tahini and sunflower seeds are good sources of zinc."
Lets throw a couple vitamins in there. How about Vitamin C? "The best food sources of vitamin C are uncooked or raw fruits and vegetables." That is from the NIH! (National Institute of Health)
Are we starting to see a trend here? Sure on some of the lists you might see one animal product, for example for calcium you will see milk as a source, but not even close to the highest and best. For vitamin A you will see liver as a very high source. Why? Because we as animals store our fat soluable vitamins in our livers! Look if you want liver, great! For me, ill pass. What else does the liver do? Detoxification. Do I want to eat the organ that stores poisons for another animals body? No. But that is just me. I encourage you as we go through these topics to see investigate for yourself and come to your own conclusions about all of these topics. We are all co-learners on this journey to a health transformation!
To your health,
Dr. Peaver
P.S. We will talk about specific micronutrients in detail in the future but for now I wanted to give the 10,000 feet view.
David A. Bender, PhD "Chapter 44. Micronutrients: Vitamins & Minerals" Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry 29e
Minerals in general serve as co-factors for enzymatic processes in the body, as electrolytes, maintain acid-base balance, form structures such as bone and teeth,.
Ok so we have covered at nauseam why we need micronutrients, and if you want 100 more biochemical pathways I can attempt to dig it up and post it, but hopefully we got it. The question still remains, how do we find these micronutrients and how do we get them into our bodies so we can function optimally. Plant foods.
For almost every single mineral if you were to do a google search for foods high in magnesium for example, you might see "Good dietary sources of magnesium include legumes, whole grains, wheat bran, soybean flour, whole-wheat flour, oat bran, spinach, beet greens, green leafy vegetables and Swiss chard." Ok....what about Iodine? "Great sources of iodine include lima beans, soybeans, garlic, sesame seeds, Swiss chard, seafood, spinach, turnip greens and summer squash." What about zinc? "Black-eyed peas, pinto beans, soybeans, lima beans, whole grains, pumpkin, mushrooms, cooked greens, tahini and sunflower seeds are good sources of zinc."
Lets throw a couple vitamins in there. How about Vitamin C? "The best food sources of vitamin C are uncooked or raw fruits and vegetables." That is from the NIH! (National Institute of Health)
Are we starting to see a trend here? Sure on some of the lists you might see one animal product, for example for calcium you will see milk as a source, but not even close to the highest and best. For vitamin A you will see liver as a very high source. Why? Because we as animals store our fat soluable vitamins in our livers! Look if you want liver, great! For me, ill pass. What else does the liver do? Detoxification. Do I want to eat the organ that stores poisons for another animals body? No. But that is just me. I encourage you as we go through these topics to see investigate for yourself and come to your own conclusions about all of these topics. We are all co-learners on this journey to a health transformation!
To your health,
Dr. Peaver
P.S. We will talk about specific micronutrients in detail in the future but for now I wanted to give the 10,000 feet view.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/241641-list-of-foods-high-in-minerals/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002404.htm
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